1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to Bluetooth devices, and more particularly to a device and method for searching for and connecting to Bluetooth devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, Bluetooth® (hereinafter “Bluetooth”) is a specification for wireless access of various Bluetooth devices capable of automatically and manually searching for another Bluetooth device so as to maintain a connection status with the other Bluetooth devices at a rate of 1 Mbps using a frequency of 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band. Bluetooth devices are set to recognize another Bluetooth device whose address is set according to Bluetooth devices thereby allowing communication using a Bluetooth communication scheme.
Referring to FIG. 1, a Host Device 100 provided with a Bluetooth module is located adjacent to a Headset 102, a Laptop Computer 104, a Printer 106 and a Portable Terminal 108, which respectively have a Bluetooth module.
In this case, the Host Device 100 transmits Bluetooth Host Controller Interface (HCI) inquiry signals to the above-mentioned devices. Here, words “HCI inquiry signals” refer to signals by which the Host Device searches for peripheral Bluetooth devices. The Bluetooth devices receiving the HCI inquiry signals transmit response signals to the host device 100.
Here, the response signal of the Bluetooth device includes address information on the Bluetooth devices, i.e. BD address, and information on services which the Bluetooth device provides. Therefore, when the Host device 100 transmits the HCI inquiry signal, the host device 100 can identify services that a currently connected Bluetooth device may provide, as well as whether the currently connected Bluetooth device exists.
The Host Device 100 displays the address information of the Bluetooth devices and information on the services that the Bluetooth devices may provide in the form of a list, these services are identified through the response signals of the Bluetooth devices. Thus, a user can obtain information on the address and the service of the currently connected Bluetooth devices from the displayed list of the Bluetooth devices, and contact at least one Bluetooth device. As a result, a user can transmit or receive data using the Bluetooth communication scheme.
However, a user may only connect with one device at a time through Bluetooth communication. For example, where the Host Device 100 is an MP3 player supporting Bluetooth communication, among the Bluetooth devices shown in FIG. 1, only the Headset 102 may be connected to the MP3 player through the Bluetooth communication.
As shown in FIG. 1, the Host Device 100 detects four Bluetooth devices such as the Headset 102, a Laptop Computer 04, a Portable Terminal 108, and a Printer 106. Further, the Host Device 100 receives the response signals, including BD address and service information, from all the Bluetooth devices, and provides a user with the received information on the four Bluetooth devices. Then, the Host Device connects with one Bluetooth device through the Bluetooth communication according to user selection.
As described above, the conventional Bluetooth communication scheme detects Bluetooth devices which a user may not need, and performs reception of response signals from the Bluetooth devices. Accordingly, time is wasted in connecting to a Bluetooth device which a user may not need. In addition, since the Host Device is allowed to unnecessarily display other Bluetooth devices for the user, it is then inconvenient for the user to search for a desired Bluetooth device.